The many shades of spring

So April is almost over! It is finally getting warm around here—actually it is HOT. I swear, Japan has only two seasons: summer and winter. It suddenly became summer, but then a couple days where it bounced back to winter…nothing in between really. :/ I am looking forward to warmer weather though. The cherry blossoms have come and gone (it is such a short and sweet season). Now my town is covered in bright green.

Here are some pictures from the cherry blossom season.

my neighborhood cherry blossoms

 

 

less than two weeks and they're all gone!

can you believe these are the same trees?

this is close to my house...these yellow flowers grow up to six feet tall by this river.

 

Last weekend my friends that had their wedding ceremony in Guam had their wedding party in Japan. This is common in Japan, but it still confuses me. The couple gets married just by applying for a marriage license, and then the ceremony and reception are just for show. It seems in Japan the dates can be further apart. I thought in America everything happened all on the same day, no?? It’s interesting to learn about other countries’ customs though. So this time they wore Japanese wedding kimonos (men wear “hakama” and women wear “uchikake”) AND western wedding attire. It is just not enough to only have one outfit in Japan. My friend who got married in Kyushu had four dress changes!

The party was very fun and it was great to see the bride and groom so happy. Like most Japanese receptions, it started off with a speech by someone close to the groom. Then the bride and groom gave a welcome speech (or maybe that came first…). Then the MC went around and interviewed people with a microphone about the bride and groom. Then the bride and groom went around to all the tables to greet the guests and there was some time to go up to their table to take pictures with them (there really isn’t a lot of time to talk with the bride and groom one-on-one, so most couples go to an after party called “nijikai” where they can relax—this of course would require another outfit change!). Then the bride and groom left to change outfits while the guests eat, drink, and chat. Then there is some entertainment: Bingo is a common party game here and there are several different prizes prepared by the bride and groom. The finale was a performance by the bride’s younger brother. It was a great experience to celebrate every part of my close friends’ wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

Next week we have some days off for a national vacation called “Golden Week.” Looking forward to relaxing and meeting up with people in Kansai.